How to Save a Life
by i-am-loved17
Summary: After the season three finale. Rachel needs to leave Tree Hill. Where does she go? Who helps her? JakeRachel, give it a chance. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

This is a Jake/Rachel. I wanted to try something different and I dare you to do the same. I really like where this is going, and I hope you do too. This is part I of a four part story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the idea.

Part I:

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"So, it's all set up for you to leave tomorrow. He'll pick you up when your flight lands, I already sent him your information."

"Thanks, Brooke." Rachel said, smiling for the first time that week.

"No problem." Brooke winked as she walked out.

It had been a week since Nathan and Haley's wedding. It had been a week since Rachel's limo had driven off the bridge. And it had been one week since the father of her child had died. Since then Rachel's life had been hell.

She knew that she had to have bad karma headed her way, but when it all came her way at once, it was worse than she expected. As she looked around the room a small smile made its way onto her face. When she had first been admitted to the hospital the room was plain and made her want to go crazy, but now it was filled with flowers and balloons.

The first couple of days she had only been visited once by mouth. He had told her that he was over her and that he had moved on. She hadn't really heard him. She had been too preoccupied with her unborn child and his father. Fortunately, on her third day Brooke and Haley had came and brought games to get her mind off of everything going on.

Brooke had been there everyday and they just talked. They talked about everything; Lucas, Peyton, the fact that both were pregnant and how they were scared to raise the baby alone. She had told Brooke to talk to Lucas and Karen and now, the three of them were raising the baby together. Brooke had in return promised to help Rachel once she got out of the hospital.

That's why Rachel was now scheduled to go to Savannah, Georgia tomorrow. Brooke had called her friend Jake and he had offered to help her get a life ready for her and her future son. She had to admit, that she was excited. But what she didn't know is that Brooke might have helped her better than she had planned to.

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Jake Jageilski was once again sitting in the airport waiting room, only this time he was picking up someone he hadn't met as opposed to the woman he loved. Last time he had brought his daughter, but this time he couldn't and wouldn't risk her getting hurt. When Brooke had called him, he had immediately said no, but after hearing that Rachel was pregnant everything had changed.

He loved his daughter more than anything and if he couldn't give up the opportunity to help someone else prepare for their gift from god. Of course Brooke had also told him that the girl was easy, but he dismissed her and told her to not to be rude to the depressed.

"Flight 154 is now disembarking at gate 9." Jake was knocked out of his thoughts and stood up to walk towards gate 9. When he got there people were already walking off the plane. Remembering that he had no idea what she looked like he just sat there and waited for her to recognize him.

As he sat down once again, something caught his eyes. It was a watch. The sun was reflecting on it perfectly so that the light reflected into his eyes. He looked up at the person's face and saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. The confidence she had as she walked out attracted him to her.

He watched her walk up to him and was surprised when she reached her hand out and said that she was Rachel. Now that she was closer to him he no longer saw the confidence and in its place were tear streaks down her cheeks. He stood up and instead of shaking her hand pulled her into a hug.

"Hi, I'm Jake."

Rachel pulled away and smiled. "I'm Rachel. Where's your daughter, Jenny?

She noticed the way he had a glow around him that appeared when he talked about his daughter. She only hoped that she could feel the same way about her son. "She's at home with my neighbor. I didn't want to bring her to such a busy place."

"You wanted to make sure I wasn't a psycho killer, huh?" Rachel raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah," Jake answered shamefully causing her to laugh. "You passed by the way."

Rachel grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the luggage pick up. "Thanks, glad to know that I passed your first test. By the way you passed mine too."

"You thought I was a psycho killer?"

"No, you are good looking." Rachel laughed. Jake blushed a little and followed her as he shook his head; she was crazy, but he liked it.

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"Jake?" A voice whispered from the bedroom doorway.

"Rachel?" Jake asked as he sat up in the bed.

Rachel stood in the same spot; she was beginning to regret waking him. When he saw her hesitating he pat the spot next to him on the bed, causing her to slowly walk towards him. When she reached the bed she hesitated once again. "I'm sorry; I just couldn't get to sleep. I'll just go try to…"

"Stay." Jake grabbed her hand before she could leave. "I mean… I want you to feel comfortable."

Rachel nodded before climbing into the spot where Jake moved the blanket. "Thanks."

"Come here." Jake told her before pulling her into his arms. He knew what she needed; to be comforted. That's why he wasn't surprised when he felt warm tears soaking his shirt.

After about 20 minutes he felt her breathing even and knew that she had fallen asleep. Now that she had stopped crying he noticed that his hand had been subconsciously rubbing her back. He had been dosing off when he heard a cry come from his daughter in the next room. Careful to not wake the sleeping girl next to him, he got out of the bed.

When he got to his daughter's crib he saw her standing, waiting for him to take her out. Jake picked her up and took her into the room where Rachel was still asleep. Laying Jenny beside Rachel, he slipped into the bed and covered the three of them up. Jenny watched her dad get into bed before cuddling into Rachel.

Jake smiled at how great Rachel was with kids and she didn't even know it. Putting his arms around both of the snoring girls, Jake knew he had something to do tomorrow; he had to thank Brooke.

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Please tell me what you think of the idea. I really like feedback on my new stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the reviews! I was scared that no one would like it, due to the different pairing, but you guys are awesome. I hope you guys like this part as well, especially since I like this one better than the other one.

Part II:

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She had never liked awkward moments. That's why when Rachel woke up and saw a sleeping family beside her, she snuck out and into her own bed. Laying there in bed, she tried to fall back asleep, but surprisingly she couldn't. Rachel wasn't tired and she knew why; last night had been too comfortable to not sleep soundly.

Knowing that laying there was no help, she got out of bed and quietly walked into the kitchen to make breakfast for two of the only people who made her feel home.

Jake had woken up when Jenny whined to say she was hungry. As he stretched out he felt that half of the bed was empty, his heart dropped, how could she have left? Wait why did he care? He could not be getting feeling for her, right? Nah, it was way too soon.

While covering his head with the duvet to remove the thoughts from his head he smelt the great aroma of bacon and what he guessed to be strawberry waffles. Slowly lowering the blanket he looked over to Jenny and grabbed her out of the room with him. A smile made its way onto Jake's face when he walked into the kitchen to find a dancing Rachel with her iPod on. He quietly laughed and made put a finger over his lips, signing for Jenny to be silent as while.

Once they were directly behind her, Jake loudly clapped so that Rachel could hear him. She jumped up and turned around so suddenly that she tripped onto Jake, knocking the three of them to the ground.

"Oh my god, Jake, I'm so sorry. Is Jenny okay? Are either of you hurt?" Rachel rambled as she lay on a laughing Jake.

"Rachel… Rach, we're alright. Don't worry about it. It's my fault." Jake said letting Jenny stand up so that he could help Rachel.

She got up with help from Jake and went back to making her bacon. "I'm done with the Waffles and eggs, but I still need to make the toast and coffee."

"You don't have to do all of this. I can help with the coffee or the toast." Jake offered, setting Jenny into her crib. "I'm supposed to be helping you, right?"

Rachel smiled and turned back to her bacon. The truth was that she didn't want him to see the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. After whipping the tears away with the back of her hands she turned around to see Jake smiling at her. All she could do was smile slightly back.

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Rachel grabbed a towel and wrapped it securely around her. Stepping out of the shower, she walked up to the mirror above the sink. She slowly removed the towel to see the bump her son was making.

When she was admitted into the hospital after the accident, the doctor had told her that for being three months pregnant she was too small. Now though, she was feeling fat, which is why she had gone through surgery in the first place. Realizing that she was just depressing herself and that tears were rolling down her cheeks, Rachel got ready for the day.

When she walked out of the bathroom she saw Jake paying with Jenny on the floor. Both of them were laughing and having a good time just being with each other. Her heart broke for her son who would never have his father play with him that way.

Jake looked up and saw Rachel watching them with tears rolling down her face. He stood up bringing Jenny with him and pulled Rachel into his arms. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to help you get through this."

Rachel nodded into his shoulder and pulled back. "Thanks, Jake. It's nice of you to d this for someone you don't know."

"No problem. Hey, can you watch Jenny for me while I take a shower?" Rachel nodded and smiled as Jake handed Jenny to her. "Thanks."

Jake walked into the bathroom leaving Rachel to look and Jenny and Jenny staring back at her. "Well, what should we do now?" She asked the little girl in a baby voice.

"Bocks." Jenny cooed pointing at the blocks in the corner.

"Okay, we can play with the blocks." Rachel answered carrying Jenny to where she and Jake had been sitting earlier.

They sat down and Rachel moved the blocks in between them. Jenny grabbed two blocks and put one up to her mouth and reached over to give the other one to Rachel. "Thanks, baby. What should I do with this?"

Jenny sat back down and grabbed another one to hand to Rachel. "Moe."

"More? Are you sure?" Rachel asked causing the little girl to nod. Rachel smiled at how cute the child in front of her was. She leaned back on her hands and watched her play alone before whispering to herself. "I'm screwed. I love you already."

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Reading what she guessed was the fifth article on how bad of a parent Britney Spears was Rachel closed the magazine and tossed it on the table in front of her. She had been waiting fifteen minutes and was getting creped out by the man in the corner who was staring at her chest; laughing silently when she thought about how he reminded her of Tim.

"Rachel Gattina?" The nurse called from the door.

Rachel grabbed her purse and walked slowly into the room that the nurse pointed to. As she sat there in the quiet room she thought about her new life in Georgia. Before moving to Tree Hill she had always wanted to be a big city girl, the kind that lived independent and alone, yet happy. She would have a great career, tons of friends, and a wonderful boyfriend. But now, maybe that isn't the Rachel Gattina that she wants to be when she grew up. Because when she woke up that morning there was an unfamiliar feeling surrounding her; one of being home.

"Good evening, Mrs. Gattina" The doctor said as he walked through the door 30 minutes later.

"Miss, its Miss Gattina. But just call me Rachel."

"Oh… I'm sorry; I must have read it wrong." The doctor replied as he looked through his files. "Well, Rachel, it says here that you are three and a half months pregnant and you just got out of the hospital, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's correct. They told me to go to a doctor when I moved, so I figured that it would be okay."

He dismissed her worries with a shake of his head. "No, you were right to come. The other doctor was a little worried about your son. So, why don't you get up on here and we'll take a look at him." Rachel did what she was told and waited as the doctor went to go get the gel that he needed to perform the ultra sound.

"We didn't miss anything, did we?" Jake ran into the room holding Jenny.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" Rachel asked watching as he said Jenny down to walk over to her.

"You don't want me here? I thought that when you told me earlier at breakfast…"

"I just told me so that you wouldn't be worried when you got back home." Jake's face fell and he walked back to where Jenny was.

"Then I guess that I should go."

"NO!" Jake heard her shout calling him back to her. "I'm glad you came, I just, didn't want you to think that you had to."

Jake grabbed her hand and smiled at her before the door opened revealing the doctor. "Oh… I see we have the father."

"He's just the friend!" Rachel said too quickly.

The doctor gave them both a look before turning back to his files and giving a knowing smirk. "Well, are we ready to see this baby?"

Rachel and Jake both nodded and stared at the small screen. Once the doctor had found the perfect spot he looked between the screen and the file. Neither Jake nor Rachel could take their eyes off the screen, so they didn't notice his hesitation. "Um… I think that there is something you should know…"

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Thanks again for the reviews, they mean so much! Keep them coming and I might have Part III tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey! Thanks for the reviews. I only have one part left and if all goes right I should have it up tomorrow.

Part III:

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_Rachel and Jake both nodded and stared at the small screen. Once the doctor had found the perfect spot he looked between the screen and the file. Neither Jake nor Rachel could take their eyes off the screen, so they didn't notice his hesitation. "Um… I think that there is something you should know…"_

Jake and Rachel looked up quickly. "What?" Rachel asked, worriedly.

"What did your doctor tell you about the baby exactly?" The doctor asked sating his file down and sitting in front of them.

"He told me that…that I was…" Noticing that tears were rolling down her cheeks, Jake rubbed his hand in circle on her back. "That I was three months pregnant and I was going to have a… son."

The doctor rubbed his temples and looked like he was deeply in thought. "Ms. Gattina, Rachel, it looks as if your previous doctor made a mistake." Lifting his finger up to show them what he was talking about, he finished. "You see how developed this arm is? Most fetuses aren't that developed until the fifth month. Also, the way the baby is placed makes it easy to figure out the sex of the baby. And it is most defiantly a little girl."

"So what you're saying is that she is having a girl in four months?" Jake asked since Rachel hadn't moved since the doctor had finished.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I hate to give you the bad news, but you are way too small for how far along you are." Rachel nodded and the doctor looked at Jake. "Make sure she eats well and gains immediate weight, unless you only want one daughter. Now, I'm going to let you guys go home with this picture, but I want you back in a week."

Jake told him thanks and watched him leave before turning to Rachel. He was worried. She hadn't moved since the doctor had told them the news. Obviously, he expected it to affect her badly, but he was surprised that he also felt his stomach drop. The way that the doctor made it sound he was scared that the baby was going to die or something.

"A girl?" Rachel whispered causing Jake to look up at her. "I'm having a girl?"

"Yeah… how do you feel about that?"

Rachel looked into Jake's eyes, noticing the sincerity. She then turned to look at the little girl that stole her heart. She know how she felt about the news, she knew that this was huge relief for her. Here she had this great man helping her who knows how to raise a great little girl.

"I'm going to have a little girl that can be… just like me." She whispered the last part. 'Shit' she thought 'I don't want my daughter to be like me.' That was her greatest fear; that her daughter grows up to be the insensitive, self-conscious girl that she is.

Jake knew what she was thinking; Brooke had told him about the surgery and everything she did in Tree Hill. "You're a good person, Rachel."

"How would you know? You just met me." Rachel cried into her hands.

"I have intuition about you. Plus, I know bad people, look at Jenny's mom."

"I just… I wish that Cooper was here to help me. I can't do this alone."

"You won't!" Jake said too quickly. "I mean, I'm here and so is Jenny." Rachel laughed and Jake looked at her strangely. "What?"

"The doctor." Rachel laughed harder at the thought.

"What about the doctor?"

"He thought you were gay."

"No he didn't."

"Yes he did. Did you see the look he gave you after you said we were just friends?" Jake shook his head. "You missed it then, but it was so there."

"I like your smile." Jake admitted before realizing what he was saying. Rachel blushed and he became extremely uncomfortable. "Um… how about we go get something to eat?"

Thankful that he had changed the subject, Rachel opened her mouth to agree, but was interrupted by the little girl n the corner. "Ice keam!"

"Ice cream? Is that okay with you, Rach?"

Rachel stood up and moved to where Jenny was sitting in the chair. Kneeling in front of the little girl she turned to Jake. "Well, seeing that this adorable little girl and this growing one both want some I guess it's okay with me."

"Great, let's go." Jake stood up and walked to pick up the picture that the doctor left. He went to hand the picture to Rachel, but she motioned for him to hold it and picked up Jenny. "Are you sure that you should be holding her?"

"I was holding her earlier, why can't I hold her now?" Rachel asked as she walked out of the room leaving Jake to hold all of their stuff.

"I'm guessing that was a rhetorical question."

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Jake Jageilski pushed the button down once more before giving up and throwing it to the other side of the couch. He hadn't expected there to be anything on TV, that's why he had asked Rachel to watch a movie with him. However, she had insisted that she would put Jenny to bed, while he got the movie ready. That had been a half an hour ago.

He reached over and grabbed the remote once again. This time he pushed the mute button so that he could hear what was going on in the bedroom.

"Hey." Rachel said from behind Jake. "Why is the volume down?"

"No reason, come sit down. What took you so long?" Jake asked letting Rachel sit beside him on the couch.

"Oh, I just told her a story."

"You're going to be a good mother, Rachel."

"You're a great father, Jake." Rachel said laying her head on his shoulder. "Were you scared?"

"When Nikki was pregnant with Jenny?" Rachel nodded. "Of course! But what new parent isn't? All of the questions come with the experience, but once you hold that baby in your arms all of the questions disappear because the only thing that's important is that she is safe."

"You're so strong. I don't know how you are doing this without help."

Jake moved his hand to her hair and after hesitating for a second moved it in a downward pattern. "Well, normally I get a beautiful pregnant woman to help me."

"I better be the only beautiful pregnant woman that you let live with you."

"Don't worry; no one can pull off the pregnant look quite as well as you."

Rachel frowned and pulled away from him. "Please stop."

"Stop what?" Jake asked, confused.

"Stop making me fall for you. It's just going to make this harder." Rachel cried.

Jake leaned closer to her and grabbed her hand. "It's going to make what harder?"

"Leaving."

"Who said you have to leave?"

"I did. Jake, I'm going to move once I have this baby. You knew my plan, Brooke told you."

"What if you didn't have to?"

It was Rachel's turn to be confused. "What?"

Jake grabbed her other hand and made sure that she was looking into his eyes. "What if I was this kid's father?"

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Tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

I feel really bad about taking so long, but school is kicking my ass. Also, I know it's short, but as I said school is kicking my ass. I mean who assigns as essay everyday including the first day of school? Anyways, now that I'm done venting, I hope that this ends it well. I could have made it longer, but I like how it is left and I think I got my point across.

Part IV:

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_Jake grabbed her other hand and made sure that she was looking into his eyes. "What if I was this kid's father?" _

Rachel knew that he was serious by the strong tone of his voice. The problem was is she wasn't sure that she even liked him enough for him to be permanently attached to her, nevertheless knew him enough for that. Without hesitating any longer she opened her mouth boldly. "No."

He was confused, he was sure that she had liked him. "What?"

"I said no."

"But… why not?"

This time it was her turn to make sure that he was paying complete attention to what she was saying. "Jake, I like you. You are great and supportive and wonderful and… the whole package. But we just met…"

"Don't you believe in love at first sight?" Jake begged her to understand how he was feeling.

"No, I don't because it hasn't happened to me. If it has for you, that's great, but you have to wait for me. It takes two people being at the same place at the same time with the same feelings to raise a kid."

Jake knew she was right; he just didn't want to admit it. He had been lonely ever since he had left Tree Hill and with her there that feeling had quickly lessened. The way she was looking at him made him want to take back what he had requested.

"I'm sorry, Jake." Rachel whispered before standing up to walk out of the room.

"Wait…" Jake called form the couch. When she turned around she saw that he had begun walking towards her. When he reached her he grabbed her hands and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay; I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I guess that I just… want to make sure you are fine with this kid. You deserve the best and I figured that I could help you. I'm sorry."

Smiling, Rachel leaned up to give him a gentle peck on the lips. "It's okay. I'm not going to leave now anyways, so why don't we stick to the plan and see what happens."

"Is there any way that we can speed up the waiting and I can take you on a date?"

"I don't know," Seeing Jake's dejected face she finished, "I am an expensive date. You think you can afford it?"

He looked up and grinned wildly. "I think I can manage."

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"So this is really it?" Jake asked once again.

Rachel nodded and pulled him closer. "Thanks, Jake."

"Can't you and Mel stay?" He watched as the girl he had fallen in love with shook her head. As he closed his eyes he sighed and opened them to watch as she said her goodbye to Jenny.

They had been dating for the fast five months and Jake hadn't been happier than his time with her. She hadn't told him that she loved him, but he knew; it was in the way that she kissed him. They had never had sex; neither was ready for that, but they had been through a lot together.

He had stood beside her during labor and held her had. Jake had even helped with her daughter's name; Melanie Amanda Gattina, born two days past her due date at 12:01 on a Monday. He had memorized everything about that night, the smell, the doctor's name, the room number, and all of the baby's stats.

Three weeks after Melanie was born Rachel's parents had called her. They asked her to move back home and they would help her raise her daughter. She was surprised at how supportive they had been and after much thought, decided that it was the best thing for her main priority, her daughter. She had cried every night that week and knew that she wouldn't stop until she was either reunited with Jake or over him. The worst part was leaving the cutie that she had grown to love like another daughter. It didn't help any that Jenny had started calling her mama just a month ago.

So now here she was saying bye to the two people who made her feel loved. "Okay, well I guess I have to go."

Jake nodded as he too heard the announcement for her bus. "Come here."

She fell into his arms and let a few tears fall. "This sucks."

"You don't have to go back."

"Yeah I do, it's best for mel."

"What about what's best for you, me and Jenny."

"Let's let life take us where we are meant to. If we are supposed to end up together, then it will happen no matter what." Rachel pulled back as far as Jake would let her. "Jake, please don't make this harder."

"Don't forget that I love you." Jake said as he slowly released her arms.

"I love you, too." Rachel said as she walked away to pick up Melanie's seat.

Jake was speechless, she had said what he had wanted to her for about three months. "Rach!" Jake picked up Jenny and ran to her.

"Jake, please!"

"I'm not going to let you give up on us. I'll let you leave if you think that's what you want, but I'm going to love you for the rest of my life."

Rachel smiled and gave him a nod. "I'll call you when I get to Tree Hill."

"Tree Hill?"

"Yeah, just Tree Hill because this is my home, with you." Rachel said as she turned back around and headed towards the bus.

Both Jake and Jenny stood silently staring at the women's slowly disappearing figure. When she was out of sight they turned, back to the car. Jake was surprised when he felt something vibrate in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and read the text that was sent to him. 'Tell Jenny mama loves her.'

The End

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Okay, I know that not all of you may be happy with that ending, but I think that it was better this way. It took me a while to figure out if I wanted them together or not and now that it's done I think that this was defiantly the best choice. I do, however, love Jake and Rachel for some reason; it made it really easy to write them together.

Thanks for reading, even if it is a really obscure couple.


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